Investors buy 57-room Redbury Hotel in Hollywood for $34 million

Roger Vincent

The boutique 57-room Redbury Hotel near the iconic Los Angeles intersection of Hollywood and Vine was sold for $34 million to a Maryland real estate investment trust.

The five-story hotel was designed by celebrity photographer and music video director Matthew Rolston and nightclub impresario and hotelier Sam Nazarian with an intentionally over-the-top flair intended to appeal to guests in creative industries in Hollywood for extended stays.

Rolston made up the hotel's name by crossing "red" for the color of the building with "bury" from Haight-Ashbury in an effort to mix bohemian, 1960s flower power and old Hollywood sensibilities.

Every suite has washer-dryer units and kitchens outfitted with pots, plates and flea-market tchotchkes. The concept is to mix luxury such as 300-thread-count Italian linens and Persian rugs with homey, boho touches such as record players.

"It channels Hollywood through a rock 'n' roll sensibility," Rolston said shortly before the hotel opened in 2010.

The Redbury originally had been envisioned as a $50-million condominium building and extended-stay hotel by its developer, Palisades Development, which lost control of the property in the economic downturn when it was about 80% complete. CIM snatched it up in 2010 for $15.8 million.

CIM finished the development and contracted with Nazarian's SBE Hotel Group to manage it. SBE will continue to operate the inn at 1717 Vine St., buyer Pebblebrook Hotel Trust said. Pebblebrook paid $34 million for the property.

"We're thrilled with the acquisition of the Redbury in the dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry Hollywood neighborhood," said Jon Bortz, chief executive of Pebblebrook.

Last year the Redbury averaged 84% occupancy at room rates of $274 a night, Bortz said. It has a restaurant called Cleo on Vine Street and an indoor-outdoor lounge on the second floor known as the Library.

The sale price of nearly $600,000 a room "speaks volumes as to the strength of the Hollywood hotel market right now," analyst Alan Reay of Atlas Hospitality said. "Typically, REITs are not going to buy a hotel this small."

With the acquisition of the Redbury, Pebblebrook owns 27 hotels including the 236-room Mondrian Los Angeles in West Hollywood, the 310-room Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica and the 258-room W Los Angeles — Westwood.